21-year-old arrested for shooting inside Orangeburg Food Lion
ORANGEBURG, SC (WOLO) — Officials with the City of Orangeburg are providing updates after a young man fired a gun inside of a Food Lion on Friday.
Police say 21-year-old Tajari Riley was arrested for aggravated assault and breach of peace after firing a single shot from his handgun.
Courtesy: Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office
“First and foremost, we’re thankful no one was injured as a result of the incident,” says Chief Charles Austin with the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety.
According to the police report, Riley was inside the busy grocery store on Chestnut Street when he and another young man got into a verbal altercation.
That’s when eyewitnesses told officers that Riley pulled out a handgun, and fired one shot — missing the other young man as he ran down an aisle to get away.
A witness told police that Riley then pulled out a knife, and ran out of the front entrance — threatening to kill the other person as he left.
Officers say luckily, no one was injured from the gunshot– with the bullet making its way through the wall of the meat department at the back of the store.
“We are always, always hoping that people will be safe in Orangeburg and surrounding areas, because bullets do not have names on them, and you do not know where they are going,” says Councilwoman L. Zimmerman Keitt.
Chief Austin says the suspect turned himself in Friday evening and was released from jail the following day on a $25,000 bond.
Gary Void is a regular shopper at Food Lion on Chestnut Street and believes young men turning to gun violence is now widespread. He’s also a Veteran.
“I was 19 going to Vietnam, but you didn’t have all this stuff, you didn’t hear about it, you heard about shootings or something in New York, but you very seldom heard about this kinda stuff down here. Now it’s all over the United States, so, it’s like, it’s out of control, so what you gonna do?” he asks.
The store remained closed Friday evening and reopened on Saturday morning. Chief Austin says Riley is also required to wear an ankle monitor until his future court date.
